


Beware the Tides of Mall Shoppers

by welzes



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13501148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welzes/pseuds/welzes
Summary: Rio goes shopping for friends. IV tags along.





	Beware the Tides of Mall Shoppers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [overdrive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/overdrive/gifts).



> For a friend, who wanted IV to hold someone's hand. I'm still bad at following directions.

Ryoga was busy. And because IV had "nothing better to do," the task of watching Rio had passed down to him for some inexplicable reason—though he hadn't taken it without a fight, of course.  
  
"She's not a kindergartner. She can take care of herself. Give her more credit," he'd said, to which Ryoga had all but snapped back at him: "Just do it!"  
  
And that had been the end of the discussion, because IV did find it genuinely difficult to deny Ryoga (and Rio).  
  
As it turned out, Rio had a long day of shopping ahead of them. She'd won a local game and earned some pocket money that she intended to splurge. IV had nothing scathing to say to that: As far as he was concerned, she deserved to indulge herself.  
  
"Just don't scurry off. It's Sunday. There's a lot of people," he told her.  
  
"Yes, I'm aware," replied Rio, her gaze already wandering to window shop.  
  
Then the bags started to grow in number. Within a couple hours, IV felt the friction of the bag's handles carving red marks of pressure into the bends of his fingers. He huffed in disbelief (never disapproval) when Rio insisted upon visiting another store or two.  
  
All things considered, Rio was a thoughtful shopper. She consulted him on potential buys, and she'd been hesitant to let him take all of the bags. Her concern had been misplaced: IV would rather hold a thousand shopping bags than put up with an earful from Ryoga for burdening his baby sister, though IV was confident that this sentiment wouldn't hold if Ryoga were the one shopping in Rio's stead.  
  
(Ryoga could carry his own luggage.)  
  
But it was growing increasingly arduous to maneuver through the burgeoning crowd with what was tantamount to an extra set of arms—he must have looked like a crude imitation of an octopus by now—and Rio was still moving at her unhindered pace. IV watched the crown of her head bob in the sea of shoppers around them; his heart skipped a beat and he thrust a hand between a couple separating them when she took an especially brisk step.  
  
"Rio!" he exclaimed, his hand grabbing hold of her arm above the wrist.  
  
The couple, surprised by the intrusion, parted to walk around Rio, who startled before whipping around at the hip.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, her eyes wide.  
  
IV suddenly felt foolish, but his hand stayed clamped onto Rio. The bags he was carrying had slid down to hang off his forearm, and his adjacent leg was outstretched like he'd been reaching out to a lifeline. He blinked, then schooled his features.  
  
"Don't run off so fast."  
  
"Were you afraid of losing me?" asked Rio. She turned around, glancing down at his hand, and seemed to consider this with an incredulous raise of her eyebrow. "That's not likely to happen, but if you're truly that concerned, I suppose we can do this."  
  
IV had opened his mouth to inquire after her intention when Rio peeled his hand off and held it. She turned back around and he stared as she started moving, pulling him along. In stark contrast to his rough and warm skin, her hand was soft and cool.  
  
"What—" he started.  
  
"I can't have you getting yourself lost, or I won't hear the end of it from Ryoga," said Rio, smoothly. She stopped in front of a store and looked at him. "Also, I still require your opinion on this next purchase. Your input has been invaluable."  
  
"I didn't think you'd have this much trouble coming up with gift ideas."  
  
"I'm only making sure. So, in the meantime, I can't afford to lose you. Do you understand now why we're doing this?"  
  
Rio gave his hand a gentle, reminding nudge. His eloquence, often reserved for his public appearances, escaped him as IV looked down dumbly. Finally, he nodded and Rio smiled.  
  
"I won't let you go," she said.  
  
IV nodded again. "Then I won't, either."


End file.
